Officers investigating a sexual assault on a staff member at Highfield House Hotel have charged a man.
The incident, which occurred on Friday (January 16), was reported on Monday morning (January 19).
Following that report, officers immediately attended the hotel to take statements and identify and arrest the alleged suspect.
We have now charged Melaku Gebresembet, 23, of Highfield Lane, Southampton, with sexual assault.
He is an Ethiopian national, and has been remanded in custody to appear at Southampton Magistrates’ Court this morning (January 21).
Mr Missouri said he had seen the footage, however, it was ‘not clear as to what actually happened’.
‘But I am clear and I can see his hand go up and touch her around the elbow and upper arm area,’ he added.
Gebresembet bail application was approved under the condition he would stay at Mercure Stanwell Hotel, a migrant hotel in Staines-upon-Thames.
He would also have to visit the local police station three times a week, and would be unable to come to Southampton or Hampshire except for court proceedings.
The chair of the magistrate panel, Nicholas Hawkins, said that it would be ‘stretching the reality of the situation too far’ to turn down the bail application.
Gebresembet could have also had a curfew imposed, but the prosecutor appealed the magistrates’ decision before this was decided upon.
The appeal will be heard within the next 48 hours and will likely take place on January 23 at Southampton Crown Court, and he will remain in custody until then.
A provisional trial date has been set for April 6, 2025, which is subject to change depending on the outcome of the prosecution’s appeal.
If successful, a new trial date will be scheduled within 56 days of January 21.